Working in the nonprofit sector has its own special kind of fright, right? It’s hard work, often thankless, and sometimes plagued with stress and anxiety over collecting enough fundraising dollars.
But as if that’s not enough to spook you, we’ve found a few more stats about the industry that may send a shiver down your spine. In the spirit of Halloween and all things spooky, we’ve tried our best to frighten you.
Don’t worry, though. It’s not all tricks. We’ll give you some treats, too, as we offer a few practical tips for your organization to keep the ghosts at bay.
Boo! These facts are a little bit scary …
- The number of nonprofits is growing — by a lot.
During the last 15 years, the number of nonprofits registered with the IRS has doubled to 1.5 million organizations.
- But charitable giving remains constant.
Donors are still giving on average 2% of their income. With the increase in nonprofits, it means more organizations competing for the same funds. - The cost of acquiring donors is high.
According to industry stats, nonprofits will spend between $.25-$1.50 to raise $1.
- Half your donors are leaving you. And to make matters worse, all those new donors you worked to acquire? You’re only retaining 19% of them.
In short, more nonprofits than ever before are competing for the same dollars. Plus, nonprofits are spending a lot of money trying to acquire new donors, but they are failing to keep the donors they get.
… but we’re not just giving out tricks. Check out these treats!
The good news is that everyone is in the same boat, and with some effective strategies and processes in place, your nonprofit can stand out from the pack and beat these odds. Here are a few tips for nonprofits:
- Invest in your branding and storytelling. It’s the only way to show people what makes you different than the other 1.5 million organizations out there.
- Look for new, cost-effective ways to acquire donors. Tactics such as crowd funding (getting your donors to fundraise for you) and Facebook advertising using lookalike audiences help organizations create more targeted acquisition strategies. This is part of why having good donor data matters so much; knowing whom your people are helps you go find more like them.
- Acquisition costs matter less if you retain and grow the donors you acquire. Donor retention is critical; and to do this, you must have good donor software in place. Automated communications can help close communications gaps and make donors feel more connected, while good data allows for personalized communications, thank yous, and appeals.
Nonprofit fundraising doesn’t have to keep you looking over your shoulder, wondering how long your organization may be haunted. Follow Donor.com’s blog for the latest in best practices for creating effective fundraising campaigns, and make sure you’ve given our donor data management a test drive. We offer a free 30-day trial to help you get started. You can check it out here.
If you’d like to read more about this topic, visit these links that we referenced for this article:
http://www.agroup.com/blog/how-to-stand-out-from-the-pack
http://www.nonprofitpro.com/post/fundraising-trends-2017/
https://www.networkforgood.com/nonprofitblog/new-donor-prospecting-101/
https://www.causevox.com/blog/donor-retention-statistics/
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
